"A hundred million times?" Someone said, "Big Brother, you haven't explained to me why we even need to do this."
Wang Yao shook his head, "I wish it were easier to talk about it. You will have to see for yourself. Only then will you understand what I am trying to do here."
Xiao Ming frowned, "Brother Wang, we have already witnessed a lot of changes. Ye Tian Yun's actions are affecting the future. I don't even know if everything will be the same once we return."
Wang Yao smiled, "Don't you guys worry. I have made a lot of arrangements. Even though Ye Tian Yun is making a lot of changes, everything will be useless because I will strike at the right moment - and will enjoy his expression as I tell him how all along he had just been a puppet in the grand scheme of things."
"Can you do it before this guy kills me?" Xiao Ming interjected.
"Hm?" Wang Yao frowned, "Third Brother, you have reached the pinnacle of power, yet to cling so much to a mere life."
Xiao Ming pursed his lips, "It's not that I want to cling. It's just I don't want to repeat seeing these incidents."
"You could have chosen any other time and made it so that if I died, I wouldn't have had any problems. But why did you have to choose the Silver Mist City? I hate this place."
Xiao Ming was gritting his teeth by the time his words came to an end.
Wang Yao smiled at his expression and shook his head, "Third Brother, I see you're still stuck in the past."
"Whatever happened, happened. It was our human side. And you did what seemed right at that moment." After a slight pause, Wang Yao added, "Third Brother, you wanted to reach the top and become a powerful cultivator."
"On that fateful day, you made a choice. And it was the right one."
Xiao Ming closed his eyes and stood up.
Letting out a long breath, he walked out of the room.
Wang Yao smiled and shook his head once again at the disappearing back of Xiao Ming.
'Third Brother, even if this is your biggest regret, it was already written in the stones of time.'
'You can never prevent it. Even if you do choose to interfere, you will fail to change anything.'
'No one can change the past. Even if it's Ye Tian Yun.'
'He's just waiting for a miserable end.'
…
Outside the tavern.
The gates of the tavern were pushed open, and Xiao Ming stepped out of the building.
His handsome stature made many heads turn and be awed by his grace. However, his cold expression made him seem unapproachable.
Xiao Ming looked up, and staring at the night sky; he squinted his eyes.
In the next instant, to many bystanders' shocks, he disappeared.
On the glass wall at the top floor, Wang Yao frowned at his action.
'Not you, too, Third Brother… don't do anything stupid, or else you will suffer a fate worse than Second Brother Shi Yan.'
'His soul is still being used as a fuel to burn the hell.'
….
About a hundred miles away from the Silver Mist City.
The entourage of the Gracious Sword Sect was swiftly getting closer to the Silver Mist City.
They hadn't stopped for anything ever since they had buried Shu Xian's body.
While Jun Xie sat and thought about the possible paths he had to take in the coming future, Xiao Ming and Yuan Shuchun were literally taking this mission as their honeymoon.
"One more night, and we will soon reach Silver Mist City." Yuan Shuchun said as she snuggled deeper in Xiao Ming's arms.
He smiled, "Well, I will have to say that these days are about to come to an end. We will be separated once this mission is done."
Yuan Shuchun nodded her head and let out a sigh, "I won't let us be apart for a long time. Just a few more months, and I will have full autonomy over my fate."
"Hmm," Xiao Ming smiled and shook his head while staring at the opposite wall of the carriage.
"Shu'er, there's a high chance we will separate for a long time. But don't you ever doubt my feelings for you."
Yuan Shuchun smiled, "Xiao Ming, we both have our goals. The journey ahead will be long and hard. Let's hope in the future when we look back; there's no regret."
Xiao Ming smiled and nodded his head.
*thud*
Just then, the carriage suddenly came to a halt.
"What happened?" Xiao Ming called out.
Qing Shan, who was outside, replied, "Don't know what happened, but Fu Kai's carriage suddenly stopped. Come out, let's go."
Xiao Ming nodded his head and came out of the carriage, Yuan Shuchun following him closely behind.
They followed Qing Shan, headed towards the carriage at the front, and saw Jun Xie coming out.
He, too, seemed clueless as to what was going on.
Even though the sun had already set a few hours ago, everything was visible to them because of the moonlight.
The moonlight gave the surroundings a silverish look.
"What's going on?" Xiao Ming asked Jun Xie.
Jun Xie shrugged and looked at Fu Kai and Kai Yang; both of them pointed at a rock on the side of the path.
Everyone else turned their heads to the side and were stumped to see a man sitting on the rock and drinking wine from his guard.
"Who are you?" Jun Xie asked.
The man raised his head and jumped down from the rock.
"Xiao Ming. Come forward." The man said, ignoring Jun Xie's question.
"Me?" Xiao Ming frowned and took two steps forward.
The man, too, took a step closer, and everyone else was able to look at his appearance.
His face was covered; however, the aura around him seemed majestic.
'This is not a random cultivator.'
The same thought flashed through everyone's mind.
In fact, if it weren't for how easily he jumped down and the confidence in his voice, they would have thought that this person was just a mortal.
Because they couldn't sense any Qi from him!
"Who are you?"
The same question was asked, but this time by Xiao Ming.
However, the man still chose to ignore it and said, "Follow me."
Turning around, he jumped on the rock and then jumped more, disappearing in the darkness.
"What should I do?" Xiao Ming asked for advice from others.
He was confused about everything that was happening, and he was even somewhat scared - an emotion that he rarely felt - he was scared from the look that the man had in his eyes.
'I am powerless in front of him.'
Suddenly he frowned.
No one replied to the question he asked.
When he turned his head, he almost jumped in shock after seeing everyone's expression.
Everyone, be it Fu Kai or Yuan Shuchun, had a dull expression and closed eyes.
It was as if they were sleeping while standing.
"Don't worry about them. They are just tired after a long journey."
The man's voice reached his ears.
It was coming from the forest.
Xiao Ming took a deep breath and followed the direction of the voice.
'I have no other choice anyway. It's better to see what this guy wants from me. How does he even know my name…'
*tap* tap* *tap*
Xiao Ming passed the huge rock and came to an open area.
It was a small grassy spot within the dense forest.
At the center of this small field was the man who had just called him out.
He had his back turned on Xiao Ming and was staring at the moon in the west.
"Wonderful, isn't it?" The man asked.
Xiao Ming frowned at him, "Who are you?"
"Hmm," the man shook his head, "Why are all of you so interested in my identity?"
Xiao Ming frowned, "Because I would really want to know who this man is drinking wine in the middle of the jungle at night."
The man laughed, "Well, I was bored, and was waiting for you, Xiao Ming."
Xiao Ming asked, "How do you know my name?"
"I would be pretty dumb if I didn't know your name," The man turned around.
He still had his mask on, making it hard to judge his expression for Xiao Ming.
"What do you want?" Xiao Ming asked the most important question.
The man nodded his head, "I like it that you are curious."
"Well, we don't have much time anyway. I will get to the topic."
"Xiao Ming, if you answer my two questions, I will give you advice that will change your whole life."
Xiao Ming frowned, "Ask away."
The man smiled, "First question, Xiao Ming, tell me, what do you desire the most in this world?"
Xiao Ming replied without any thought, "Power."
The man nodded, "Second Question, tell me, how far have you gone in your path to pursuing this… this power?"
Xiao Ming smiled, "I fell in love with a girl for it."
The man nodded his head, "Indeed you did."
Xiao Ming asked, "These were your answers. Now, give me your advice."
The man let out a sigh and stared at him for a long time before saying anything.
"Xiao Ming, I will say something that I am not supposed to speak off."
"First of all, you can trust me. I know more about you than you do yourself."
"Secondly, you can stop using that Token Of Fate on me. And focus on what I am about to say."
As soon as Xiao Ming heard these words, his expression blanked from shock, "How do you know about Token Of Fate!?"